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Vijayta Pandit, who made her debut in Love Story (1981) alongside Kumar Gaurav, recently opened up about their real-life romance. Despite opposition from Kumar Gaurav’s father, Rajendra Kumar, the actor was ready to marry Vijayta even though he was engaged to Raj Kapoor’s daughter, Reema.
In an interview with Lehren Retro, Vijayta shared how actors often develop real feelings while filming romantic movies, citing couples like Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia, and Sunny Deol-Amrita Singh, who fell in love off-screen.
She recalled how she and Kumar Gaurav grew close during Love Story, “Bunty (Kumar Gaurav) was the first boy I hugged during the shoot for Love Story. Any love stories you look at, be it Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia’s Bobby, Sunny Deol-Amrita Singh’s Betaab, Sanjay Dutt and Tina Munim’s Rocky, all these actors fell in love in real life. With such films you have to get into it, feel the romance… that was the first time a boy was touching me, so we both fell in love…”
She continued, “Bunty was very fond of me; he would keep following me, holding my hands and dancing… he used to be a very charming boy. But his father and the film’s producer Rajendra Kumar was very angry over our relationship. He would drink alcohol and tell Bunty, he was his prince, and that he should marry a princess. He said he will find his son a girl who belongs to a reputed family. When I used to hear all this, I used to be so scared, but Bunty would retaliate and tell his father that he loves me; they used to drink together and argue; I used to try and get away from this situation.”
In an interview with Lehren Retro, Vijayta shared how actors often develop real feelings while filming romantic movies, citing couples like Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia, and Sunny Deol-Amrita Singh, who fell in love off-screen.
She recalled how she and Kumar Gaurav grew close during Love Story, “Bunty (Kumar Gaurav) was the first boy I hugged during the shoot for Love Story. Any love stories you look at, be it Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia’s Bobby, Sunny Deol-Amrita Singh’s Betaab, Sanjay Dutt and Tina Munim’s Rocky, all these actors fell in love in real life. With such films you have to get into it, feel the romance… that was the first time a boy was touching me, so we both fell in love…”
She continued, “Bunty was very fond of me; he would keep following me, holding my hands and dancing… he used to be a very charming boy. But his father and the film’s producer Rajendra Kumar was very angry over our relationship. He would drink alcohol and tell Bunty, he was his prince, and that he should marry a princess. He said he will find his son a girl who belongs to a reputed family. When I used to hear all this, I used to be so scared, but Bunty would retaliate and tell his father that he loves me; they used to drink together and argue; I used to try and get away from this situation.”
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However, Rajendra Kumar disapproved of their relationship, wanting his son to marry someone from a prestigious family. This led to Kumar Gaurav’s engagement to Reema Kapoor.
Despite the engagement, Kumar Gaurav continued to visit Vijayta’s house, promising her that he would marry her. However, things took a turn when Vijayta learned that Kumar Gaurav had started an affair with Namrata Dutt, leading to the end of his engagement to Reema. Vijayta clarified that she had no involvement in the breakup.
